Review | Chernobyl

PS: this article does NOT contain any spoilers, but it will be providing you with a general idea about the show. If you’re not into that, then heed my warning! 

I know I might be a bit late to the party, but nothing compares to a Disney princess entrance. Light up those candles, fairy Godmother!

HBO striked again and managed to cover up for the astrocities season 8 of GOT brought us (this is 2 seconds away from becoming a GOT review).

HBO brought joy to all of our hearts with its newest mini series « Chernobyl ». Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably saw the amount of buzz the show created.

Summary:

The show revolves around the catastrophic nuclear accident in Chernobyl which occured on April 26th, 1986 and consisted of the explosion of reactor number 4 in the Chernobyl power-plant. Chernobyl and its neighbouring town, Pripyat, were both a part of the former USSR. The series depicted the struggles of scientists that had to lead the clean-up process: mainly Valery Legasov and Ulana Khomyuk. The presence of several political figures and their influence was a big topic as well. We got to see a lot of Boris Scherbina, deputy chairman of the council of ministers.

HBO did not stop there but wanted to focus on a more human side of things. We got to see the live of the regular joes that were involved in the incident and had no idea about the dangers of radiation. We saw the firemen who helped turn out the fire that night, citizens, children, minors and power-plant staff that for some reason had no idea what was going on.

The series focused on the aftermath of the incident and described the whole cleanup process with its ups and downs without ever forgetting to let us see the human side of things.

Analysis:

The series succeeded without doubts when it came to telling the truth. 90% of the characters actually existed and they even gave us a footage of them at the end of the series. I personally became obsessed with the incident and watched several footages and documentaries and that made me fall for the show all over again. This work of art was almost an exact copy of what happened.

Boring detail: even the spot where they sumped the firemen’s gear is identical to the one in reality that still exists in Pripyat and is extremely radioactive!

The plot was extremely smooth and it felt like they had several lenses that they kept switching. they went from simply stating facts to showing us scientific evidence to helping us see the horror of what had happened through the eyes of many. For some reason seeing things through a simple soldier’s point of view made me feel a lot more empathy than watching the main characters interact were I had to be objective.

The show had a grim feel to it and never seemed like a Super Mario game where hurdles kept coming their way and they had to resolve it one after the other. It might sound tidious, but it went smoothly thankful to continuous character and events’ growth.

Creative elements:

Where can I start? The dialogue was pure perfection! It was extremely smooth and extremely informative and deep. Whoever wrote the script, all Tumblr users want to thank you for the awesome quotes.

The costumes brought the show to life, it felt like the 80s were revived. Along with smooth camera work and lightning, those elements were a sight for sore eyes! Don’t even get me started on how meticulous they were when it came to the workers’ clothing.

Opinion:

In case you still can’t tell how biased I am, well, I love the show. Such artwork is always key to raising awarenes when it comes to important events in contemporary history and we all want a cup of that. The show is capable of speaking directly to viewers, any viewers. No matter what art element you’re into, Chernobyl has it ready for you. It’s rare to see something so inclusive in this genre.

The causes of the show are quite noble: What does it really mean to be a scientist? What is a sacrifice and when do you make it? What is the cost of lies?

Verdict: I give the show a 9.5/10 and I strongly recommend it.